“Remember all the others? All the people you had me kill? Remember Lily?”
His claw pierces her skin, slowly at first, with deliberately torturous precision. A rivulet of crimson spills down her stomach.
His voice drops to a whisper. “I want to hear you say it. Tell me how you justify it—all those wolves dead, all that suffering you brought down on us—just so you could have ababy. I heard every word of your speech.” He leans closer, lips curling. “You? Amother?”
He releases her, thrusting her body to the ground. Deidre sees death coming. It laces her words with contempt, paired with a rasp from being choked.
“You want to know why I picked you, Silas? You want to know whyyou? There were others I could have chosen. But I needed a warrior. A champion.”
He tenses, bracing for impact. A sound escapes her bruised throat—something between a laugh and a chime.
“I’m kidding. I needed a whore. I needed a lazy, worthless, degenerateslutwho would fuck anything with a pulse, and you were perfect for the role. Enough power to get me what I wanted, and broken enough to control. Someone whose self-loathing ran so deep, he’d mistake being used for being wanted.”
I lunge to stop him, but I’m too slow. He plunges his hands into her abdomen, tearing through flesh and muscle, and extracts her organs one by one, tossing them to the ground with a sickening splat. Her blood sprays in violent arcs while screams tear out of her. Something terrible channels into him, as his limbs move with rapid rage, tossing parts of the woman to the ground, ripping her carcass open.
Her screams fade into silence, yet somehow linger long after she’s dead.
I never meant for this to happen—never wanted him to become this.
He turns toward me, drenched in red. The metallic, putrid stench of her innards drowns out his familiar, rainy citrus scent.
“Silas,” I start, unsure what to even say. She deserved death. But still…
He shakes his head. Grabs hold of his cock, then takes a wide stance over the body parts.
I step forward in shock, but he cuts me off with a dismissive wave.
“I promised this bitch I’d piss on her steaming flesh after I killed her.”
The casual way he says it makes my blood run cold. I search my brother’s face, scared of what I’ll find.
The image burns itself into my mind. His stance over the corpse, the stream of urine hitting her body, and the organs scattered about.
But later that night, in the small hours, when I check to see if the brother I love still exists beneath the monster I justwitnessed, I’ll find his face slack with contentment, and him sleeping more peacefully than he has in years.
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Chapter 40: Orion
The shifters huddle in small groups, exchanging information. Weeks underground forged connections that won’t easily break. I watch Andrea emerge from the concrete bunker entrance, her shoulders squared with new purpose as she strides directly toward Sam and Ingrid.
Even in the darkest moments, people find light. I won’t judge if the struggle justifies the reward. It’s hard to say, with my mate still in shock in my arms.
Andrea’s eyes catch mine through the window, and her chin dips in acknowledgment. She’ll likely make her way home to collect her things, but I suspect Andrea is moving to Arizona as soon as possible.
She looks happy. As happy as Andrea can appear. Her expression is stern, and she’s furrowing her brow, standing military-straight, directing wolves this way and that. Sam, her new alpha pack mate, even defers to her. Andrea will be the leader of her pack. Mona will be happy to hear it.
Mona’s red hair spills across my arm as she sleeps against my chest. Chaos all around us—wolves barking orders, rushing in all directions—and all I can think about is her.
Movement catches my eye—Ghost and Kendrick exit the silo. The other wolves converge, and I notice Ghost’s reluctance to join their discussion.
Ghost prefers the shadows—it’s in his name, after all. Kendrick knows this and exploits it, not just Ghost’s quiet demeanor but his preference for solitude. I suspect that’s why he’s been reluctant to join our pack before now.
I don’t have the space in my head to hold a grudge against Kendrick right now, but Mona may some day.
For now, though, it seems Ghost is being pulled into the light. Their voices carry to me as Kendrick strategizes with him and the alphas. One burly alpha, nearly physically recovered from his weeks underground, shifts and runs toward the neighboring clan’s territory for assistance. They’re a good distance away, but the urgency has passed.
That’s just how wolves are. Danger faced together, recovery the same way.
